"A guilty man set free on the account of another, is that justice? No that’s grace" Caleb & Sol

29 January 2013

MY LAMB SACRIFICE

John 1:29-34

In one sentence we have the essence of the Christian
message……“Behold
the Lamb of God” What do you think of when you here that statement in
the scriptures?

I think of pain and
suffering

I think of sin

I think of the gospel

I think of what an
amazing Saviour

I think of grace

I think of the joy
it brings

I think of the
humility of Jesus

I’m reminded of that hymn…….

“There is a fountain
filled with blood,

Drawn from Immanuel’s
veins

And sinner plunged
beneath that flood

Lose all there
guilty stains”

Isa 53:6-7 “All we
like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the
LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed, and he was
afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the
slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened
not his mouth.” As Kent Hughes said “Christianity is a bloody religion” But through that
blood there is grace, mercy and forgiveness. Let’s read the text! [v29-v34]. John has been
crying out as a voice in the wilderness, a testimony that has
reached the ears of the Religious Leaders [The Sandhedrin were
the main governing body of the Jewish nation. They were controlled by the
family of the High Priest.]

John has just finished answering the questions by the
religious leader….

Who are you?

What then are you
Elijah?

Are you a Prophet?

Why do you baptize
then?

He gave them his answer! "I am the voice
of one crying in the wilderness...". I baptize you with repentance..." There is One coming
who none of us are worthy to tie his shoes!! There is One coming
who will be the greatest sacrifice for all of mankind. The Bible says the
next day all these things that he was proclaiming came true. (v29)The
next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, "Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away
the sin of the world!” The Lamb of God is
here…..the Lamb that would be slain for the whole world

Our Savior our
Lamb's Supper. There are 2 important truths or promises for us to understand this
morning!

1. THE LAMB
WHO CAME TO BE SACRIFICE FOR SINNERS

The Pure and
undefiled Word came to be my sin Sacrifice, your sin Sacrifice! "The Lamb of
God". All through
Israel’s history God had revealed clearly that son and separation from Him
could be removed ONLY by blood sacrifice. There was NO
forgiveness of sin granted by God apart from an acceptable substitute dying as
a sacrifice. This statement must
have pierced the conscience of every Jew….because they naturally associated a
lamb with there history. Why? Because a Lamb signifies......A required sacrifice.....A burnt offering
for sin of the people

The Lamb sacrifice for Abraham and Isaac

Gen 22:11-16 “But
the Angel of the LORD called to him from heaven and said, "Abraham,
Abraham!" So he said, "Here I am." And He said, "Do not lay
your hand on the lad, or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God,
since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me." Then
Abraham lifted his eyes and looked, and there behind him was a ram (which is a male sheep) caught in a thicket by its horns.
So Abraham went and took the ram, and offered it up for a burnt offering
instead of his son. And Abraham called the name of the place,
The-LORD-Will-Provide; as it is said to this day, "In the Mount of the
LORD it shall be provided." Then the Angel of the LORD called to Abraham a
second time out of heaven, and said: "By Myself I have sworn, says the
LORD, because you have done this thing, and have not withheld your son, your
only son”

The Passover Lamb, for the nation of Israel

Exo 12:5-14 “Your
lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year. You may take it from the sheep or from the goats. Now you shall keep it until the
fourteenth day of the same month. Then the whole assembly of the congregation
of Israel shall kill it at twilight. And
they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and on the
lintel of the houses where they eat it.
Then they shall eat the flesh on that night; roasted in fire, with
unleavened bread and with bitter herbs they shall eat it. Do not eat it raw,
nor boiled at all with water, but roasted in fire—its head with its legs and
its entrails. You shall let none of it remain until morning, and what remains
of it until morning you shall burn with fire. And thus you shall eat it: with a
belt on your waist, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. So
you shall eat it in haste. It is the LORD's Passover. 'For I will pass through
the land of Egypt on that night, and will strike all the firstborn in the land
of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute
judgment: I am the LORD. Now the blood shall be a sign for you on the houses
where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you; and the plague
shall not be on you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt. 'So this
day shall be to you a memorial; and you shall keep it as a feast to the LORD
throughout your generations. You shall keep it as a feast by an everlasting
ordinance.”

The Jewish required a blood sacrifice for the
forgiveness for sin

Lev 5:5-7 'And it shall be, when he is guilty in any of
these matters, that he shall confess that he has sinned in that thing; and he shall bring his trespass offering to
the LORD for his sin which he has committed, a female from the flock, a lamb or a kid of the goats as a sin offering.
So the priest shall make atonement for him concerning his sin. 'If he is not
able to bring a lamb, then he shall bring to the LORD, for his trespass which
he has committed, two turtledoves or two young pigeons: one as a sin offering
and the other as a burnt offering.”

A Lamb that would be lead to the Slaughter

Isaiah 53:5-7 “But
He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The
chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed. All
we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way; And
the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed and He was
afflicted, Yet He opened not His mouth; He
was led as a lamb to the slaughter, And as a sheep before its shearers is
silent, So He opened not His mouth.”

The nation wanted a
King, a Conqueror…but all that was sent was a Lamb. But not just any
Lamb…….a Lamb that would deal with sin once and for all. As the Hebrew writer
said “For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. Consequently,
when Christ came into the world, he said, "Sacrifices and offerings you
have not desired, but a body have you prepared for me; in burnt
offerings and sin offerings you have taken no pleasure. Then I said, 'Behold, I
have come to do your will, O God, as it is written of me in the scroll of the
book.'" When he said above, "You have neither desired nor taken
pleasure in sacrifices and offerings and burnt offerings and sin
offerings" (these are offered according to the law), then he added,
"Behold, I have come to do your will." He does away with the first in order to
establish the second. And by that will we have been sanctified
through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.” Heb 10:4-10

He takes away the
first which is the animal sacrifice and the Second being the atoning work of
Christ. Our perfect sacrifice for sin. See the sacrifice
of animals was a temporary requirement, did not mean you became sinless. It was only to be
done until the Perfect Lamb Sacrifice came to pay God's required debt once for
all nothing but the blood of Jesus. John the Baptist
used this expression as a reference to the ultimate sacrifice of Jesus, to atone
for the sins of this created man and woman. As we read in Rev 5:11-14 “……I heard the
voice of many angels around the throne, the living creatures, and the elders;
and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of
thousands, saying with a loud voice: "Worthy is the Lamb who was slain To receive power and
riches and wisdom, And strength and honor and glory and blessing!"And every
creature which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and such as
are in the sea, and all that are in them, I heard saying: "Blessing and
honor and glory and power Be to Him who sits on the throne, And to the Lamb,
forever and ever!" Then the four living creatures said, "Amen!"
And the twenty-four elders fell down and worshiped Him who lives forever and ever.”

Worthy is the Lamb that was slain for us! “For the World”means “All humanity
in general, reaches all human beings without distinction (national, racial, and
ethnic boundaries)”1 John 2:2 “And He
Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for
the whole world”

For me rebellious
and hostile lifestyle towards a holy God

For my unregenerate
family and friends

For Hitler/ Stalin/
Osama

For murder/rapist/
adulterer/the disobedient child

For the man who
killed thousands a baby each year

For you and your wicked
rebellion

His grace is
sufficient for everyone but it only benefits those who are His. For the every
sinful act I’ve done or will be committed! The Lamb [Jesus] came be a willing sacrifice
for all of them.

That’s grace!

That’s a love that
surpasses any human understanding!

That’s the gospel
truth

2. THE
LAMB WHO CAME TO PROVIDE FORGIVENESS FOR ALL

The Lamb came to
deal with the Sin issue, to provide forgiveness for wicked and rebellious created
children. [you and me]. This does not mean universal salvation for the whole world as some would proclaim these days.

He came as a Lamb to provide forgiveness for the lost! “for the Son of Man
has come to seek and to save that which was lost.” Luke 19:10

Paul said He offers forgiveness through His blood on
the cross! In Eph 1:7 Paul said “In Him we have redemption through
His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace”

This is the Lamb of God, who is always ready to forgive
a sinner! In Ps 86:5 “For You, Lord, are good, and ready to
forgive, And abundant in mercy to all those who call upon You.”His forgiveness is for those who trust in His Son
completely! Though
He came to provide this forgiveness for
all or that it is sufficient for all it only benefits the elect. Unfortunately scripture says He would be rejected by many "....
'THE STONE WHICH THE BUILDERS REJECTED HAS BECOME THE CHIEF CORNERSTONE.” Mark
12:10. As we've already seen here in John's opening remarks
to his gospel! “He
was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not
know Him. He came to His own, and His own
did not receive Him.” John 1:10-11.Dear Stephen said to the religious leaders "You
stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears! You always resist the Holy
Spirit; as your fathers did, so do you. Which of the prophets did your fathers
not persecute? And they killed those who foretold the coming of the Just One,
of whom you now have become the betrayers and murderers,.” Acts 7:51-52. And sadly the end result is eternal suffering “in flaming fire
taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the
gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. These shall be punished with everlasting
destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power,” 2
Thess 1:8-9.

In [v29-v30]"Behold! The
Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! This is He of whom I said,
'After me comes a Man who is preferred before me, for He was before me.'

Why do we believe
this statement?

Why is He our
Perfect sacrifice for sin?

Why is He the only
One who can forgive?

By what we see in the next few verses! The Sprit
descending from Heaven…this is the promise or conformation that this is the true
Messiah. [v33-v34]“I did not know
Him, but He who sent me to baptize with water said to me, 'Upon whom you see
the Spirit descending, and remaining on Him, this is He who baptizes with the
Holy Spirit.' And I have seen and testified that this is the Son of God." How did John know ahead of time that Jesus was the One? In Luke’s account
we read “And the Holy Spirit descended in bodily form like a dove upon Him, and
a voice came from heaven which said, "You are My beloved Son; in You I am
well pleased." Luke 3:22

My Beloved Son

My Only Begotten
Son

My Lamb of God

My Perfect
Sacrifice

My Son of Man who
comes to be a ransom for all! But received by few!

As the late great John Calvin said
"Since no man is excluded from calling upon God the gate of salvation is
open to all. There is nothing else to hinder us from entering, but our own
unbelief."

"In his book “Written In Blood” Robert Coleman tells
the story of a little boy whose sister needed a blood transfusion. She had a
rare blood type which she shared with her little brother. The fact that he had
recovered from the same disease two years earlier made the chances of success
even greater. The doctor
carefully explained all this to the little boy, pointing out that without the
transfusion his sister would die." Would you be brave and give your blood
to your sister?" the doctor asked. Johnny hesitated. His lower lip began
to tremble. Then he smiled and said, "Sure, for my sister."

The two children
were wheeled into the hospital room - Mary, pale and thin; Johnny, robust and
healthy. He smiled at his sister, the watched as the blood traveled out of his
body, down the clear plastic tube. Johnny's smile faded, and as he lay there
feeling weak he looked up at the doctor and said, "Doctor, when do I die?' Johnny thought that
giving his blood to his sister meant giving up his life. Yet because of his
great love for her he was prepared to pay the price."

That’s sacrificially
grace for one another…but the ultimate sacrifice is found in the only begotten
Son of God “the
precious Lamb of God” all because we need a sacrifice for our rebellious lives.

Sin affects the
very heart of every individual in this world

Sin affected the
Nation, the prophets down to the apostles and church

Sin makes us
incapable of changing the future or the present or repaying for the past.

We desperately need a lamb sacrifice! This is what John
was proclaiming “Behold
the Lamb of God”who came to save
sinners from spiritual death [separation]. This is why He came "for the Son of Man has come
to seek and to save that which was lost". As Jesus said to the disciples when He told the story
of the prodigal son“.......
I say to you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner
who repents." Luke 15:10. And it’s only
possible through the precious, spotless, perfect Lamb of God!

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"Radical obediance to Christ is not easy; it is dangerous. It is not smooth sailing aboard a luxury liner; it is sacrificial duty aboard a troop carrier. It's not comfort, not health, not wealth, and not prosperity in this world. Radical obediance to Christ risks losing all these things. But in the end, such risk finds its reward in Christ. and He is more than enough for us." David Platt

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2 Timothy 2:8-14"Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God, who saved us and called us toa holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began,and which now has been manifested through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel, for which I was appointed a preacher and apostle and teacher, which is why I suffer as I do. But I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that he is able to guard until that Day what has been entrusted to me.Follow the pattern of the soundwords that you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. By the Holy Spirit who dwells within us, guard the good deposit entrusted to you."ESV

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John MacArthur says . . . " There seems almost no limit to what modern church leaders will do to entice people who aren't interested in worship and preaching. Too many have bought the notion that the church must win people by offering an alternative form of entertainment. Just how far will the church go in competing with Hollywood? A large church in the southwestern United States has installed a half-million dollar special-effects system that can produce smoke, fire, sparks, and laser lights in the auditorium. The church sent staff members to study live special effects at Bally's Casino in Las Vegas. The pastor ended one service by ascending to "heaven" via invisible wires that drew him up out of sight while the choir and orchestra added a musical accompaniment to the smoke, fire, and light show. It was just a typical Sunday show for that pastor: "He packs his church with such special effects as ... cranking up a chain saw and toppling a tree to make a point ... the biggest Fourth of July fireworks display in town and a Christmas service with a rented elephant, kangaroo and zebra. The Christmas show features 100 clowns with gifts for the congregation's children."Shenanigans like that would have been the stuff of Spurgeon's worst nightmares. And even Tozer could not have foreseen the extreme to which evangelicals would go in paying homage to the great god Entertainment. "

What does it mean to live a cross centered life?by Pastor Mike AndrewsWe as Christians know that there is only one road to take. The Bible say's "wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it" (Matt 7:13). Why is there so many people who profess Jesus Christ taking this road? (Phil 3:19) "Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things". The Bible say's the wide road leads to destruction. Which means eternally separated from a HOLY and Sovereign GOD. There is ony one road for GENUINE Christian. And it's the narrow road. A life that is: 1) Self denial2) Caring your cross daily3) Desiring the things of God4) Hating the things that God hates5) Submission and obedience6) Holy living7) Expects any kind of persecution.(Mat 10:22) and you will be hated by all for My name's sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved(1 John 3:13) Do not be surprised, brothers, that the world hates you.A.W. Tozer says "The true follower of Christ will not ask, "If I embrace this truth, what will it cost me?" Rather he will say, "This is truth. God help me to walk in it, let come what may!" (1Pet 4:16-17) Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that name. For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God?We must stand strong in the Gospel of Christ. Holding to His promise of eternal life.
1. A Cross Centered life never is ashamed of His Gospel, for which He suffers,
2. A Cross Centered Life is never ashamed of the name he bears (Christian)
3. Nor of the punishment he endures, but let US, as OUR Lord and Master did, endure the cross.

"God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him." John Piper"Alan Redpathhad two daughters who loved to swarm him when he came home at night. As he came in the door one evening, his little girls ran to meet him. One grabbed his leg and hugged him with all her might. He snatched the other daughter up in his arms. The one squeezing his leg said, "Now, I've got all of Daddy." The daughter in his arms replied, "Yes, but Daddy has got all of me!" Perhaps the question we need to continually ask is, "Does God have all of me?" Alan Redpath

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"Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, "CURSED IS EVERYONE WHO HANGS ON A TREE") Gal 3:13. That's why as the great puritan once said "I preach as a dying man,to dying men. Richard Baxter...."